Our Bee Blog: WINTER FEEDING

Bee colonies can die throughout the year. There are three primary reasons for losing colonies. They can go queenless in the spring, summer and fall. A good beekeeper periodically checks that his hive is queenright throughout this period and re-queens if necessary. They can be killed by varroa mites and the viruses they vector; primarily in the winter. Again a good beekeeper knows what to do via management techniques or chemical treatments. The third most likely reason for losing a hive is winter starvation. We previously discussed fall feeding of hives which will normally prevent starvation. However, a number of hives are lost each year due to starvation even after fall feeding.

You ask; It’s still summer, why are we reading about this so early. The answer is simple; so you can plan ahead.

Educated beekeepers know that the bees start the winter in the lower brood chamber. In fact they usually fill the upper portion of the brood chamber with honey when they are “re-organizing” the hive in the fall in preparation for winter. Then as winter progresses the bee cluster slowly eats its way upward through the stored honey. The movement in general is always upward. Only on warm winter days do bees from the cluster venture sideways to the side frames that are full of honey. At some point the cluster reaches the top of the hive. Ideally spring has arrived prior to this happening. The warm weather of spring allows the bees to break their cluster and forage sideways in the hive.

In central Wisconsin wintered hive are composed of 2 deeps or 3 mediums. Historically this methodology has kept winter starvation to a minimum. For maximum winter survival from a food standpoint 3 deeps or 4 mediums would probably be better. But this severely limits the amount of honey available to the beekeeper. Also now with the added losses due to varroa the idea of any hive loss due to starvation is anathema to beekeepers. So now many beekeepers provide the bees with emergency food at the top of the hive during the winter.

In the winter all feed is in the form of solids. No liquids; which will freeze. Also, if there were a warm day the cold liquids could drip on the bees which would be fatal.

Winter feed is usually put in the top of the hive in December. At this time the bees should be in a tight cluster down in the lower brood chamber. For most beekeepers the winter feed is simply sugar; cane or beet based sugars. Pollen or pollen substitutes are not fed until after the New Year since it may trigger brood rearing too early.

The sugar can be presented to the bees by many different methods. Here are a few. With all of these methods a spacer is required so that the sugar can be applied between the top frames and the hive inner cover. The width of the spacer will determine the amount of sugar that can be provided. Also since the spacer is being added in December it is a good idea to seal the joint between the spacer and hive body with duct tape since the bees will not be able to seal the joint themselves with propolis.

1) Newspaper (Mountain Camp) Method—Spread a double layer of newsprint on top of the frames of the upper brood chamber. Do not block air movement along the edges of the hive; leave a 2 inch space. Some beekeepers punch a hole in the center of the newspaper to allow the bees access to the sugar without having to go to the outside of the hive which is colder. Pour granulated sugar on top of the newspaper. The amount of sugar will be limited by the thickness of the spacer.

2) Candy boards—This method involves heating a sugar/water solution up to XXX degrees F ie the candying temperature. This hot syrup is then poured into a rimmed board the same size as the hive rim. After the candy cools and sets, the candy board is inverted and placed on the hive beneath the inner cover. The candy acts as both a food source for the bees and a moisture absorbent.

3) Sugar discs—sugar discs can be made by combining roughly 5 pounds of sugar with 7/8 cup of water (or any amount if you maintain that ratio of sugar to water). Thoroughly mix with a spoon. Then put in a form and tamp the mixture. Allow to dry overnight. The sugar discs can be laid directly on top of the frame tops. I also place a piece of limp rug over the top of the discs to minimize air movement. The thickness and diameter of the discs are left to your discretion.

Beekeepers, being independent types, will think up other methods for winter feeding. The idea is that for a small investment in sugar and time you can prevent the needless loss of a hive do to winter starvation. After all you did steal most of their winter stores ( ie the honey) the previous fall!

Do not be too concerned about removing the hive cover in the winter. The bees do not heat the entire hive. They only heat the cluster. But don’t dawdle. Have things organized. Remove the outer and inner covers. Immediately place the sugar in place. Install the spacer. (Make sure to check beforehand that the spacer height is greater than your sugar thickness). Replace the inner and outer covers. This shouldn’t take you more than 45 seconds if you have things planned out. Now you can take your time and duct tape the joint between the spacer and hive body.

I would recommend checking about once every two weeks to see if the bees have consumed all the emergency provisions and are in need of more. Hopefully the majority of your hives will not even touch them until spring. I generally put in two 2 ½ pound sugar discs in December. Some hives consume it all and need replenishment while others don’t touch the emergency stores. Also Italian bees tend to winter with a bigger cluster and are more likely to eat themselves out of house and home.